Dienbien is a mountainous province in the Northwest of Vietnam. Dien Bien is famous for the bloody Dien Bien Phu Battle in 1954, Viet Minh Forces (directed by General Vo Nguyen Giap) fought against French Forces (lead by Christian de Castries). It is notable that Dien Bien Phu is the place that Vietnamese people crushed the French Colonist with the Great Victory of Dien Bien Phu. This helps attract a enormous number of foreign tourists visitting Dien Bien, especially the French veterans - who want to come back to the old combat zone to bring to mind the heroic past. Although peace had been restored in Dien Bien for long time, the memories of war are still existing as an evidence of an unforgettable period of time on each Vienamese’ mind.

A1 Hill and cemetery

A1 hill was the last hill gotten by the Viet Minh, marking the last part of the battle, the most intense fighting, and loss of life. The hill was finally blown up from underneath by the Vietnamese, so what displays here is mostly the renovations. The maze of trenches is widespread and complex, and would have provided cover for hundreds of fighter to fire from a protected position. The French surely didn't lose for not trying, and that's what A1 Hill is being showed. They lost due to a serious fault. They didn’t aware that long before they broke ground on the at stronghold Dien Bien Phu, the Viet Minh had already predicted the move, and had begun the long hard process of moving heavy weapons into secret positions surrounding the location. The nearby cemetery will have much meaning for those are veterant who came to call their memories, but for the casual tourist it's just a nomal cemetery and you might want to skip it.

Dien Bien Phu Museum

Established in 1984, this history-society museum shows 270 objects and more than 200 paintings and photos of enormous historistic value. The displays are divided into 5 parts: Dien Bien Phu’s calculated place, the enemy garrison at Dien Bien Phu, the management of the Communist Party of Vietnam in the Dien Bien Phu campaign, the achieve of the Dien Bien Phu victory, and Dien Bien Phu nowaday. The museum has been receiving many groups of visitors before the 60th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory. The museum has a big detail about the positions of both Vietnamese and French forces all through the Dien Bien Phu campaign. There is also a large screen displaying documentaries for visitors to easily understand more about the occurrences that relate to the exhibits. The museum has received hundreds of valuable war items contributed by war veterans of the Dien Bien Phu campaign and investigators from everywhere.

The Bunker of De Castries

The underground protection of French General De Castries is located in the center of the Dien Bien Phu Garrison in Muong Thanh, Dien Bien. Even though it was cruelly damaged from the fight in 1945, nowadays, the bunker’s structure and arrangement still unchanged. Standing on any upland area in the scale of the garrison, we can see this well-known bunker, which took the Viet Minh army 55 days and nights to get it on their side. In the past, the French used woods and bags of sand to build a trench to connect the bunker with a blockhouse on A1 Hill. There is no trench there today, but we still can easily witness the steel curve and bags of sand on the roof top of the bunker. This was the place where General De Castries met many effective French leaders and many famous reporters and journalists. The bunker also witnessed the moment when De Castries was arrested on May 7th, 1954. If you are visiting Dien Bien in general and Dien Bien Phu in particular, De Castries Bunker is a must-see place because this humble bunker is a symbol of the victory of Dien Bien Phu Battle of the Viet Minh Army.